


the sun hasn't died yet

by marshie_marshmallow



Category: Persona 2
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon, i couldn't resist the uesugi tamami joke and that's why brown has a kid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-01-10 21:46:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18416483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marshie_marshmallow/pseuds/marshie_marshmallow
Summary: Above the empty shell of a planet that ceased rotation, Xibalba flies and carries the last remnants of humanity on its back. With limited supplies, it looks as if the human race is doomed to die out but there are those who refuse to go down without a fight. Some wield supernatural powers and others are simply so stubborn as to face demons without fear.Between them, they very well might have the power to save the world.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> i spent all day listening to my music collection trying to find a title for this fic. it eventually came from radioactive by imagine dragons (with the addition of one word to make it sound better). both title and summary are possibly subject to change.

Twilight is falling on Sumaru City, flying high above the clouds and the ruins of planet Earth below. Most people clutch their precious belongings close and hurry home, as the streets are rather dangerous at night. There's been a rise in gang activity lately and, of course, there are the demons. The demons don't tend to rear their heads in daylight but after nightfall...

The police and a few powerful vigilantes do their best to keep the peace but dwindling resources make things more difficult for everyone. It seems more and more, each day, that the last remnants of the human race are doomed to die a slow death in the sky.

* * *

 

In Kounan, Detective Suou Katsuya holds his glasses in one hand and rubs his eyes as he makes his way down the hall of the temporary police headquarters, stationed in one of the old office buildings that are now abandoned by whoever worked there. For a temporary set-up, though, it's looking more and more permanent as nobody can spend time or resources rebuilding the actual headquarters that had been destroyed by some mad bomber months ago.

He knows he should go straight to one of the rooms where cots and futons are set up as a dorm and obey the command to 'get some rest', rather than wandering the halls. Everyone in the building is overworked and things will just get worse if the police start collapsing on the job, so even just a few hours of shut-eye will improve his performance. Even so, it feels wrong to take any kind of time for himself, even just for basic necessities. The city's in chaos and he can't sleep knowing that.

He passes by the wall of missing persons, which often seems to only grow larger each day without anyone ever being found, and avoids making eye contact with the familiar face he knows is posted up there.

* * *

 

In Yumezaki, Yoshizaka Anna and Mayuzumi Yukino are in the latter's apartment, which is shared between them these days, gearing up for a night of street patrols. As some of the very few people with real experience fighting demons, they're better-suited than even the police to protect the population after dark.

Yukino is double-checking her shotgun when Anna hands her one of their precious bottles of water. There's a limited supply of such things but they do have to ensure they don't get dehydrated on patrol. She gratefully accepts the bottle and tucks it into her bag, before resuming her task. Anna turns and picks up her whip off the table, absent-mindedly checking for frayed portions that she already knows aren't there.

Satisfied that it's in working order, Yukino reassembles the shotgun and stands up, offering her hand to her partner, who accepts it without a word. With the smallest of smiles, the two of them walk out the door and into danger.

* * *

 

Hanakouji Miyabi knows she should stop doing this, especially so late in the day. She's no more likely to find anyone than she was the last several times. Still, her heart remains hopeful that someone had somehow survived the attempt to take control of Xibalba. They may not have succeeded in stopping the end of the world but she just wants to see _him_ again. They didn't spend enough time together after being reunited, having assumed they would have the time after he saved the world.

If her chances of seeing him, or at least finding out exactly what happened to him, means staking out the last place he and his friends were seen alive, months after it had all happened, then she'll gladly do it every day for the rest of her life.

She grabs her baseball bat, throws on her shoes, and leaves the apartment building.

* * *

 

In an apartment smelling of booze and smoke, Serizawa Ulala frowns at her empty bottle, before chucking it at the opposite wall where it shatters and joins the broken pieces of others like it. She's already suffering cigarette withdrawal and it's impossible to get your hands on a pack of those these days, what with how carefully people hoard them. She doesn't want to think about what it'll take to get more alcohol, which is a luxury far more than it is a necessity.

Nobody wants to face the end of the world sober but especially not her. She can't do that alone.

* * *

 

Hoshi Akari flips through her notebook, looking for just a little more space to draw on. She only has so many notebooks and wants to use them all up as much as she can. Paper, like everything else, is a precious commodity and she's unlikely to get more than what she has stashed in her bedroom.

She finds a page with a bit of empty space in the corner and grabs her pencils. As much as she would like to be out there protecting the innocents like a true reincarnated warrior, she doesn't know where to begin on that front. Her skill is nowhere as good as any of the other Persona-users across the city.

She wonders what happened to those five heroes who swore they would save the day. They didn't seem to have done a very good job of it.

* * *

 

Ueda Chika clutches her knife – the only thing she carries for self-defense against the monsters roaming the streets – with an iron fist as she quickly hurries down the sidewalk towards her house, making sure to stay out of the shadows. She's been gathering info as she always does but still no useful rumors have surfaced. Nothing that might lead to hope for the city. Most of the rumormongers have given up the trade for various reasons but she's more than a rumormonger. She's a _reporter_.

Something clatters in an alley as she passes and she jumps. Without checking to see what it was, she hurries on. For all that she wants to stay out and try for just some scrap of info, she never stays out past dark these days.

* * *

 

Sonomura Maki bounces a grinning toddler on her leg while Uesugi Hidehiko stares out the window of his apartment at the growing shadows on the streets below. Their group of friends is fractured by the memory of the three that had been left below and they're all coping, or not coping as the case may be, in their own ways.

She has to wonder what her friend was thinking, taking one of the city's many orphans under his wing, especially one so young. Maybe it's his way of dealing with the current state of affairs, by ensuring he can't fall victim to despair as long as he has a little girl - a daughter - to look after. There _must_ be a future for the children, after all. It would just be too cruel for there to not be.

* * *

 

Kido Reiji checks the cabinets in his apartment kitchen again, despite knowing full well they were running empty. Supporting a pregnant girlfriend was hard enough when he was simply struggling to make sales. Now that the world's ended and everything's being rationed, he wonders if there's any chance of the baby actually surviving to its own birth.

It's a morbid thought but he's something of a morbid person. At least he's not one of those people who loses their minds and murders their family before committing suicide. There have been a few stories like that in the city. The apocalypse has made madmen of them all.

* * *

 

Katayama Noriko flops back on her bed, not even bothering to take the ribbons out of her hair. She misses school and the track team but the school system has been defunct for months. In the kitchen, her parents are arguing again, like they've been doing all the time since the city started flying, even before the Earth stopped. She knows why, of course. Her brother was still in Tokyo for university when it all happened and now he was gone forever and neither of them are coping with it at all.

She wonders if they would have split up if they didn't have her to take care of. Maybe she should just do like she's thought about before and leave. There were plenty of empty apartments for her to move into – which was technically illegal but the police had bigger problems than squatters - and the community kitchens to get her food from. It had to be better than this, anyway.

* * *

 

Nanjo Kei squints at the maps and papers spread out before him, hoping there's something he missed. Something that'll make everything not quite so _hopeless_. Of course, even if he were to somehow solve the power or water crises, there's still the food problem. Growing anything is nigh impossible, both here in the crowded city and on the planet below that has ceased rotating. Even if they could make food grow, it might take longer than the city has before it starves.

He rubs his temples and gets up from the desk to pace. There has to be an answer. There has to be a way to save what remains of humanity. He's just not sure where to find it.

* * *

Kirishima Eriko kneels at a table as she lays her tarot cards in proper formation. Her readings were naturally all coming up rather negative these days but she had to keep trying. Every evening, after she assisted across the city all day, she'd read the cards and pray she'd made a difference somehow. That there would be some kernel of hope in the future.

She flips the first card over and pauses before flipping over the second. By the time, she's flipped all of them, she's in shock trying to process what could cause such a major change in the future. It's not all positive but it's a much better-looking prospect than what it was yesterday.

* * *

 

In an empty classroom in the abandoned campus of Seven Sisters High School, a strange machine whirs to life and glows as a young man comes stumbling out.

 


	2. The Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tatsuya comes home and meets a familiar face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact i wasn't originally going to track dates, just locations, but then i realized this has An Actual Real World Calendar and that, if i didn't track dates, i was going to Scream. also this was initially gonna be longer but it flowed better when i hacked the end off and attached it to the start of next chapter instead.

**November 10 th, 1999 – Seven Sisters High School**

 

Suou Tatsuya just barely caught himself on the dusty teacher's desk of classroom 1-C before he fell straight onto the floor. Even for someone as experienced in fighting demons as he was, trekking back up through Xibalba by himself wasn't the easiest. At least the Last Battalion's teleporter was still around so he only had to get to the fifth level rather than trying to go _up_ the Silver River.

(Though, thinking about it now, he wondered if it was actually left by the Last Battalion, insofar as the soldiers actually being the ones to set it up. It was possibly one of Xibalba's creations, formed by one of their stray thoughts. Then again, would Xibalba be able to create the one in the classroom? _No, this isn't important, Tatsuya. Focus._ )

He pulled himself upright and reached into his bag, which had once been used to carry school supplies, to make sure he still had everything that he should be carrying on this side of reality. A few healing items and chewing souls, his old Red Hawk mask, the fire skull (he supposed he should find some way to get rid of the thing, given that it was essentially useless but still dangerous), the long-wilted remains of all the flowers Jun had thrown at them while acting as Joker that were now crumbled across the bottom of his bag, and the original copy of In Lak'ech. Anything else the group had between them had been carried by one of the others. His katana, the one gifted to him by Nanjo Kei, was still strapped to his back but he already knew that from having had to use it to beat up demons on his way out of Xibalba a few minutes prior. Satisfied that everything else was in order, there was only one object left to check.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver lighter. The one he had bought in the other world had worked so far as giving him something to fiddle with but it was never quite the same as _his_ lighter. He ran his thumb over the inscription carved into the side, before flicking the cap. It served to calm his nerves a bit, thinking about everything that had happened to him within the last few weeks and what was going to have to happen moving forward.

He glanced out the window. The sky wasn't completely dark yet but it looked like it would be in a few minutes. He supposed he could camp out in the school rather than trying to find somewhere else to spend the night but that didn't sound very appealing. Really, he wanted to go back home and crawl into _his_ bed in _his_ bedroom and sleep.

Then again, how was he supposed to just show up at the house? The last time he had actually had any kind of contact with a family member was Katsuya yelling for him to find somewhere to hide when the Last Battalion first arrived. That was August and time seemed to pass the same for both worlds.

There was the time between when they first gave up their memories immediately following the Grand Cross (or, rather, the others gave up their memories and he refused to do so) and when he regained his by running into Maya. Then all the time spent actually pursuing _him_ on the other side. If the worlds did exist at a one-to-one ratio timewise then it would be November, same as it was over there.

And his family hadn't seen or heard from him since August. Did they think he was dead? That he had taken advantage of the end of the world to cut off all contact with them? They would probably never believe him if he told them the truth of where he'd been. Should he just avoid telling them exactly what happened? Why was dealing with people so _hard_?

“AUGH!” he yelled, burying the hand not gripping the lighter into his hair. Yelling wouldn't solve anything but it did make him feel a little better.

His cry was met with a startled scream however, followed by a shout of “Who's there?!” from outside the classroom.

Suddenly distracted by the realization of not being alone in the building, he slipped the lighter back into his pocket and cautiously unsheathed his sword. It didn't sound like a demon but it was always best to be on guard. Sliding the classroom door open, he placed one foot in the hallway and poked his head out to check. Nothing was in sight, so he stepped fully out and turned to the entranceway of the school. As he approached the shoe lockers, he could feel Apollo stirring and whispering that it sensed no danger.

“Hello?” he asked, holding his sword in one hand and relaxing his stance.

From behind one of the sets of lockers, a girl stepped out, holding a baseball bat as if it were a weapon. In the darkened school, it was hard to make out details of her face but Tatsuya knew he recognized her somehow. If he could just see a bit better...

“It-it can't be...” she said, sounding shocked. “Suou-sempai?”

 _Oh._ That voice was familiar. He resheathed his sword. “Kozy-san?”

Hanakouji Miyabi, for it was without a doubt her, lowered her bat slowly, then suddenly dropped it on the floor and rushed to grab at his arms, as if ensuring he was real. “Oh _hell_! It's really you! Everyone thought you were dead! That you and Lisa-san and Eikichi and the others had all been- Eikichi! Where is he?” She peered around him, clearly looking for the others.

He stiffened at the mention of his friends. This wasn't an ideal situation to find himself in right after arriving. “... I'm alone.”

Her arms dropped back to her sides and she stepped back to look up at his face. “What happened?”

Hands buried in his jacket pockets, Tatsuya dropped into a slouch. “It's... a long story... but Eikichi, Ginko... Maya-nee and Jun... They're not coming back. Any of them.”

Miyabi looked horrified, covering her mouth with her hands. Her next words were little more than a whisper. “Are they...?”

“It's... complicated. But no. They're not dead... or, well...” Maya _was_ dead in this reality and the others, for all intents and purposes, might as well have been.

“I had hoped... That's why I kept coming here... I was hoping I could at least learn _something_...” She wrapped her arms around herself. “Everyone said it was pointless... That you all had been killed by the Last Battalion or demons or... but I thought... until I saw your bodies for myself...”

He took a deep breath and pulled his lighter out to flick the cap a few times again. After several long moments, he glanced up to look her in the eye. She deserved to know what had become of her boyfriend. “I'll tell you what happened. But... I don't know that this is the best place for it.”

“Oh! Oh, of course... It's dangerous to be out late. Mother would be so mad if she knew I was out after dark again but I just felt like I had to come. A good thing I did, though, I suppose... Wait, what about you? Were you going to go home?”

“Er... I don't know. I don't think it'd be good for me to go straight home. My parents and brother know a lot less about what exactly happened so explaining things to them will be harder. I need to clear my head and think things through before I can talk to them. So... I don't think I'll be going to my house yet.”

“Um... I guess you can stay with me tonight? If you want? Mother hardly ever comes home these days so she can't get upset with me about it. I don't really have a spare bed so much as a spare futon on the floor but... Well, unless you'd rather sleep on the couch? But that might be a little small for you to fit on... Is that okay?”

“I don't want to intrude. I can find somewhere else to stay for the night.”

“... Where exactly?”

There was no reply.

“It's way too late for you to find somewhere else, Suou-sempai. It's cold and there are demons and gangs and... Just for one night. It'll be easier to talk this way, too.”

He bit his lip. “... Fine. One night. I won't bother you any longer than that.” He paused. “Gangs?” Of course he knew that there had always been gang activity around - he had gotten into his fair share of fistfights with other delinquents even when he didn't want to - but he didn't recall it being such a major problem as to make the streets dangerous. At least not in Rengedai.

“People are panicking. A lot of them have turned to violence and gang activity.” She picked up her bat off the floor. “Come on, my place isn't too far.”

Once they were out of the building, Tatsuya blinked under the moonlight and glanced over to get a better look at her. She wasn't in her Sevens uniform, which he was pretty sure was the only thing he had ever seen her wear, but was instead wearing jeans, a white shirt, and a denim jacket. It was a bit disconcerting, realizing that the people he had ignored for years had their own lives and owned clothes other than school uniforms.

She looked back at him and raised her eyebrows. “You're still wearing your uniform.” She sounded a bit surprised by that fact.

He tugged at the knot of his tie, suddenly self-conscious given how _weird_ she made wearing a school uniform sound. “Well... it was the last thing I was wearing when everything... I mean, when we... I haven't exactly had a chance to change out of it.”

“... Alright. It makes you stand out, though, since the school's no longer in use. None of them are, in fact. So wearing _any_ school uniform really...”

“Makes you look strange by comparison. Alright. I don't have anything else to wear, though. The rest of my clothes would be at my house...” Assuming, that was, that his family hadn't decided he was dead and gotten rid of them.

“Well, it's fine for now. We have Father's old things in storage, so you could just borrow from us. We've been meaning to donate them to charity anyway.”

He had no desire to borrow clothes from her but figured refusing outright would just result in one of those uncomfortable arguments where the other person tried too hard to be helpful. Instead, he just flicked his lighter before walking down the path to the school gates, forcing her to jog to catch up with him.

* * *

 

The streetlights weren't on, which was kind of annoying given that it meant walking around in total darkness but also a signal of something being very wrong. Miyabi refused to walk past any alleys or around any corners without first checking to see if there was someone or something waiting to ambush them, though Tatsuya was confident in his ability to take on any of the surface demons or random muggers.

They did get into something of an altercation with a few Blobs and Pixies that took one look at Tatsuya and fled, apparently sensing just how much stronger he was than them. The sole Jack Frost that tried to ambush them was less willing to run but Tatsuya still didn't even need to summon Apollo. His sword was all it took.

“ _These_ are the demons that are terrifying people so much?” he asked incredulously as they walked down the dark streets.

“Most people can't take on even weak demons,” she reminded him. “Other parts of town have much more powerful infestations, too.”

“Have you had to fight any demons?”

“Mostly I just swung my bat around and screamed until they left me alone. I did take one down, once. Through luck, mostly, but I did it. I think it was a... Harpy?”

“... I guess that _is_ an accomplishment if you don't have a Persona.”

She didn't reply and just picked up her pace. “My building's just down the block. Let's go.”

* * *

 

**November 10 th, 1999 – Hanakouji Apartment**

 

“This is it,” Miyabi announced as she slipped her shoes off and set her bat down by the door. “Looks like Mother's not coming home tonight. Spares me having to explain your presence to her.”

“What does she do that means she can't come home?” he asked as he took his shoes off and set them by hers.

“She works with the community kitchens and shelters for people who were displaced by the city's rise. Most of them are in hotels and such, so, if it gets too late for her to come home, she can just stay at work. It's important work but it does leave me in charge of the apartment most of the time.”

He nodded in understanding and cast his gaze about the primary living area. There were books, magazines, and papers scattered across the coffee table. From what he could see in the kitchen, there looked to be dishes nobody had bothered to wash. There was a pile of miscellaneous items stacked in a chair. All-in-all, it was clear that the apartment was not very well-kept. From the look on her face, Miyabi was well aware of this fact.

“I haven't cleaned very much lately... You'd think with nothing else to do I'd be able to keep it cleaner but... apparently not.”

“It's fine.” It was still less of a disaster than Maya's room. He glanced at the couch and immediately understood what she had meant earlier about it being too small for him to comfortably fit on, being a two-person couch.

“Oh, this place is a disaster...” she muttered as she tried to stack the items on the coffee table to give some semblance of order. “Not appropriate for company at all...”

“It's _fine_ , Kozy-san. Believe me, I've seen worse.”

“Trying to think about what might have happened that would lead to you being the only person to return, months after you left, is bad for my nerves. Having the apartment be such a mess isn't helping there. Especially not when it's a mess and I _suddenly have a guest._ ”

He pulled his lighter out and flicked it, muttering, “You might not want me around anymore after I tell you what happened...”

“What was that?”

“Nothing... Maybe we should get the conversations out the way first. Make things easier.”

“That...” She looked up at his face and her voice trailed off. Maybe his discomfort was showing on his face more than he realized. “Alright. If it'll be easier for you that way.”

After he set down his katana and bag by the wall, they sat down on the couch together and he instinctively tried to move as far away from her as he could. Something about the idea of being in such close physical proximity to Eikichi's girlfriend made him extremely uncomfortable. Even so, on such a small couch, the amount of space he could put between them was minuscule.

“So...” she said as she chewed on her lip, “I think I have the general idea of what happened in August. I know you guys went to Sevens and helped clear out the Last Battalion and Masked Circle there. There were plenty of witnesses to that. After that, though, you by all accounts... vanished.

“The entrance to the core of Xibalba was at the Narurato Stone. We went in to try to take control and prevent the fulfillment of the Oracle of Maia. We... obviously didn't succeed.”

“... Wait, so that hunk of rock in the courtyard actually _was_ special? … Alright. So, what exactly happened after you went to the core?”

He flicked the lighter cap and took a deep breath. “Well...”

* * *

 

By the time he finished the story, his head was turned away from her and his eyes glued to the wall. He didn't want to see her reactions to the tale. “Once I came back out of the teleporter, it was only a couple of minutes at most before I heard your scream.”

“That's quite the story.” Her voice was soft.

“Right...” And it was his fault. This entire timeline still existing was his fault. He wouldn't blame her for hating him right now.

“Is he happy?”

He turned back around to look at her, confused. “What?”

“Is Eikichi happy in that other world?”

“Uh... Yeah, I guess... I didn't exactly talk with him much.” He was pretty sure Eikichi was dating the other Miyabi, though. He recalled seeing her at Sumaru Prison. That seemed like a detail he should keep to himself.

“That's good. He's somewhere safe and happy. That's all I needed to know... As long he's alive somewhere...” There a catch in her voice, like she was trying not to cry.

“Oh. Well...” Outside of 'reporter for the school newspaper' and 'Eikichi's girlfriend', he really didn't know anything about Miyabi, which made the idea of trying to comfort her daunting.

Miyabi stood up, wiping at her eyes. “You know, I'm a bit hungry. I'll go find something for us to eat.”

He nodded and sank back into the couch cushions, putting his hands over his face. He hadn't realized until just now how exhausted he was. This body wasn't the one he had been fighting in (and he tried not to think about how things were going for the other Tatsuya, whose body he had 'borrowed' for close to a month) but mentally he was completely drained. It didn't seem like Miyabi had any plans to throw him out even in light of his story though, so he could probably look forward to sleep soon.

He could hear her messing around in the kitchen behind him, possibly making more noise than necessary to try to hide the quiet sobs that he could just make out under the clatter of dishes and cabinets being opened. There was only half a wall partitioning the living room from the kitchen, so all he'd need to do would be to turn around to watch her. He didn't, however, and, instead, he pulled his hands off his face, let them drop to his sides, and stared up at the ceiling.

 _What now?_ From the looks of things, the city was in a worse state than he imagined it was going to be. Most likely, the rumors caused by people panicking over their current situation had worsened the issue. That was, of course, assuming the curse on the city that made rumors become reality hadn't stopped when Nyarlathotep and Philemon crossed to the other timeline. It would arguably be worse if the curse _had_ been lifted, as it would prevent him from abusing it for his own purposes.

Hell, where was he even supposed to start with all this? Even if the curse was in place, what kind of rumors would he need to spread to fix things?

“I'm done,” came the quiet sound of Miyabi's voice and he blinked, realizing he must have zoned out for longer than he'd thought. “I hope you like rice and fish.”

He blinked again, trying to process what she just said in his tired state. “Oh, uh... Yeah, that's fine.”

Slowly he pulled himself off the couch and shuffled over to kneel at the table, where she'd already set out a bowl for him.

As she sat down on the other side of the table, he pretended not to notice how clearly she'd been crying. “Sorry about the chill. I would get the kotatsu out but it uses up too much electricity,” she said.

He looked up from his bowl, chopsticks hovering over his bowl. “What do you mean?”

“Rationing. There's only so much power in the city so you're discouraged from using too much. There's even been talk of cutting off power to some districts and buildings entirely so they can focus it to areas that really need it.”

“Oh.” He looked down at his bowl and resisted the urge to start shoveling rice into his mouth to avoid how awkward conversation with her was. This _was_ an opportunity to get a better grasp on the current state of affairs. “... What about everything else? Food and water and... other stuff?”

She looked a bit confused by his asking. “Food is obviously a problem, as is water. Everything still _works_. We just have limited supplies. There are other problems all over the city as well but everything seems to stem from the rationing. That and the demons.”

He looked down again, silent. After what felt like several minutes, which were mostly spent with the two of them eating, he looked back up. “So... if there was a way to get more supplies than what's actually in the city, things could start improving?”

“Uh... I guess? How exactly do you plan on that?”

“That depends. Are rumors still becoming reality?”

Miyabi looked at him, stunned. Having been present when they summoned Joker as a test of the rumor curse, she was one of the few people he knew that was fully aware of it. “I'm pretty sure they are, actually.”

“Then I'll use the rumors. I don't know how yet but I will. The Kuzunoha Detective Agency... they'll be able to confirm whether or not it's true. I'll go check with them tomorrow.”

“Wait, so you're planning to try to save the city? By yourself?”

“I have to do what I can to fix things.”

“But... by yourself?”

“It's not as if the others are here to help anymore.”

She grew silent and stared at her bowl, a strange look in her eye. “... You should eat before it gets cold.”

It seemed the conversation was over so he did as she said. The silence continued even after they were both finished eating, as Miyabi stacked the dishes with the rest of the pile, apparently not ready to bother with washing yet, and got the futon and sheets out of a closet for Tatsuya.

“I would offer to let you have Father's pajamas but I think they'll smell weird after being in storage so long,” she said as she spread the futon out on the living room floor. “I mean, if you want them you can use them but...”

“I can sleep in my clothes.”

“Alright.” She stood up and pointed at one of the doors. “The bathroom is right over there if you need it. I'm gonna go to my own room now.”

“Okay.”

“... Good night.”

“... Yeah.”

Once she was in her own room and had, presumably, locked the door, he got to work on removing his jacket, tie, and belt. Once he was in just his button-down and pants, he turned off the lights which left him in total darkness thanks to the lack of light coming in from the streets. Though part of him still felt guilty for intruding, he flopped down face-first onto the futon and buried his face in the pillow, hoping for sleep to take him soon.

 


	3. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares and friends.

_It was bright, too bright. There was fire surrounding him on all sides and lots of it. Where was he? Was this the Aerospace Museum, burning down yet again? Or maybe the shrine, ten years ago? But he wouldn't be surrounded by the fire if it was the shrine. Wherever he was, there was that insane laughter that he had come to associate with burning buildings. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere._

“ _Show yourself!” he yelled but the laughter just kept going, sounding more and more deranged. Instinctively, he reached for his katana but found only an empty sheath. Failing that, he tried to call upon his Persona but there was no response. It felt as if Apollo had abandoned him._

_Mixed with the sound of the laughter, suddenly, came screaming. A familiar plea for help that he had heard before many years ago, mixed with the sound of children crying. He had to do something. He had to help but there was fire blocking off every possible exit. Even he couldn't run straight through flames._

_A sudden sharp pain – a pain he'd felt once before as a scared child – spread through his back and he collapsed onto his hands and knees. The laughter sounded again but now it was standing right over him and he couldn't do anything. He couldn't move. Just stay there motionless on the floor with the laughing and the screaming and the crying and why couldn't he move why couldn't he feel his Persona why did everything hurt so much why why why-_

“SUOU!”

* * *

 **November 11** **th** **, 1999 – Hanakouji Apartment**

 

Tatsuya woke up with a start at the sudden yell to the feeling of someone grabbing his shoulders. His immediate instinct was to push them off and sit straight up in alarm at the unfamiliar surroundings.

He blinked a few times as the fog of the nightmare dissipated. Once his mind was cleared, he realized where he was and that the person who had been grabbing him was Miyabi, now sprawled on the floor and looking a little shocked at his semi-violent reaction. She was still dressed in a set of pink pajamas but sunlight streaming in through the windows indicated that it was already morning.

“Must have been some dream you were having,” she said slowly as she moved into a sitting position. “You were twitching a lot... and crying. You were crying in your sleep. I thought... maybe I should wake you up.”

“Oh... thanks.” He rubbed his eyes, finding that they were indeed a bit wet, and tried not to think about the dream. It was just a nightmare. Apollo sat at the back of his mind as usual. His failure to show was simply part of the dream. “Sorry for, uh... responding the way I did.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“No.”

“... If you say so.” She stood up and brushed imaginary dust off of herself. “I pulled out some of Father's clothes in case you want to put on something else. Most of them were in boxes, though, so my warning about them smelling weird stands. I'll wash them for you but only if you actually agree to wear them. I don't need to be wasting the water and electricity if you won't use them.”

He looked up at her face and shook his head. “I don't need-”

“You're gonna walk around wearing the school uniform that you've been wearing for... how long have you been wearing that uniform?” She paused, hand on her chin. “... Doesn't matter, I suppose. You slept in it and that's enough. Anyway, your only other choices are to borrow the clothes that aren't being used anyway or go home and lay claim to your own clothes. If you want to go with the second option, that's fine too.”

He stood up and shoved his hands in his trouser pockets. “Yeah... no. I'm not ready to explain things to my family and what else am I supposed to do? Just break in, take my clothes, and leave?”

“I don't think it counts as breaking in if it's your own house but fair enough. Really, though, just take the clothes so you have something else to wear. Even just the ones I've pulled out. They were on hangers so they don't really need to be washed. There's no reason for you to feel guilty about wearing them if you were worried about the water and power being used.”

“I... alright, fine.” He didn't see much sense in arguing with her given that the clothes _weren't_ being used and he really would like to get out of his uniform. "Just the ones that you don't need to wash, though."

“Great.” She retreated into the larger of the apartment's two bedrooms, which was presumably her mother's room, and came out with a stack of clothes. “These are some of the ones that were on hangers. I can get more out for you later so you have more variety but you can wear those for now. I hope you don't mind that I picked them out for you.”

His brow furrowed as he took them, trying to process that she had already picked out clothes for him. She couldn't have done it the night prior, so that meant... “Wait, how much longer than me have you been awake?”

“At least half an hour or so. I'm a morning person. I had actually intended to let you sleep longer because you seemed pretty tired last night but then I noticed you having that nightmare. Oh, and feel free to take a shower but try to keep it under five minutes because of the rationing. There's soap and shampoo that you can use and clean towels are stacked on top of the towel rack. Hang it up to dry when you're finished since we can't wash them too often.”

"I don't need-"

"That wasn't actually an offer so much as a demand. Take a shower."

“... Alright.”

Miyabi nodded and turned back to her own room, leaving Tatsuya to quietly wander into the bathroom. He considered just changing clothes but decided after a moment to take a quick shower, as he did feel pretty gross. When he was done and had hung up the towel as asked, he changed into the clothes she had given him.

The clothes seemed to fit well enough except for the fact that the jeans provided were too short in the legs. He must have been taller than her father. Other than that, she had given him a plain black shirt and a green military-style jacket. He threw on the shirt, not bothering with the jacket just yet, and stepped out.

In the living room, he found Miyabi, fully dressed and in the process of folding up the futon and blankets that he'd used.

“I can... I can get that,” he tried to say.

“It's fine. I'm almost done.” True enough, just seconds later she was stacking them in the corner. Once they were out of the way, she turned to look at him. “... Those fit better than I thought they would, honestly.”

“Uh... mostly. I'm going to guess that your dad had shorter legs than me.” He frowned at her outfit.

“We don't have much in the way of breakfast but I can make toast or something,” she said.

“No, it's fine. I'll just go. I don't want to be taking anything else from you.”

“You're not.” As he opened his mouth to protest, she held her finger up to pre-emptively cut him off. “No buts. You're not a bother and it gets pretty lonely here without Mother. Now sit down while I make breakfast.”

Why was she so insistent on this? “Look, you've already given me dinner last night and a place to sleep. And clothes. I don't need to be leeching off of you any more than-”

“Do you like butter or jam on your toast?”

“I don't need-”

She put her finger to her chin, miming thinking. “We do have jam, don't we? I'll have to check.”

“Kozy-san.”

“I know toast is a pretty boring breakfast but we do need to use up the bread while it's still good.”

“Are you listening to me at all?”

“I'm choosing to selectively ignore your arguments until you agree to stay for breakfast.”

He threw his hands up. “Fine! I won't leave yet!”

She smiled sweetly, though the look in her eyes was devious. “Good.”

Tatsuya was beginning to sense that she had her own plans as to his future living arrangements and no intention of letting him have any say in them.

* * *

“Slow down, sempai! You're gonna leave me behind!”

“You don't _have_ to come!” Tatsuya shouted over his shoulder.

Miyabi rolled her eyes. That was the third or fourth time he had said something along those lines since they left the apartment building heading for Hirasaka. He really was insistent on his whole loner schtick, wasn't he? “I am coming! With you! Just let me catch up!”

He kept walking at the same pace, so he obviously didn't intend to let her catch up to him. She wouldn't be quite so far behind him in the first place except for the fact that he had tried to leave without her right after breakfast, which gave him a significant head start. This had left her trying to catch up to him while simultaneously attempting to tie her sneakers and also keep her bat tucked under her arm. How she hadn't fallen over yet was anyone's guess.

Even after getting her shoes tied, she dropped the bat - again - while trying to put her foot back on the ground, forcing her to stop to pick it up. Tatsuya kept walking while she did so. He just really didn't care, did he? There she was, trying her absolute best to extend a helping hand and he just kept refusing to take it.

She could see why, of course. She was no idiot and, for a guy who wasn't always the easiest to get a read on, his reasons behind trying to shut her out might as well have been written on a flashing neon sign. He assumed himself to be a nuisance and he felt guilty over everything that had happened, especially his apparent role in the continued existence of their timeline. Those reasons, ironically enough, were also  _exactly_ why she couldn't let him go off on his own.

No, he needed help but he refused to ask for it. That meant it fell to her to make sure he was alright. Besides, did he really think he was gonna pull off saving the city by himself? He didn't even have a proper plan yet!

“Get back here!” she yelled as she tried to catch up to him. She was no athlete, though, and trying to sprint – she had to _sprint_ , not jog, to catch up with him and _his damn long legs why was he so fucking tall_ – left her short of breath. “It's not like you can leave me behind anyway! I know where we're going! I'll get there sooner or later!”

Apparently, her yelling finally got through to him - or had just annoyed him enough - and he stopped to wait for her to close the rather significant gap between them. Once they were finally standing side-by-side with him and she was making gestures of frustration at him, he started walking again.

“So, I know you intend to use the rumors but _how_ do you plan on that?” she asked.

He didn't bother to look in her direction, continuing to focus on the sidewalk in front of them instead. “Dunno.”

“Do you have any ideas for if we're wrong about the rumor thing? If they're actually not coming true anymore?”

“Nope.”

“You know, I really can't believe you.” He finally turned his head to look at her. “You have no real plan and not even an idea of a backup plan. And yet you, _for some reason_ , think you can do this by yourself?”

“The plan's a work-in-progress. That's all. I'll figure it out when we get there.”

His whole 'works alone' thing was honestly grating. She liked to think herself a patient person but he was actively resisting her desire to reach out. “Well, if you don't have a plan, then you still need my help.” She lowered her voice to a mutter. “... Dumbass.”

He must have heard the last part, because his face shifted a little bit, to something that could _maybe_ be construed as light-heartedness. Just a little bit. That or she was imagining things. “Didn't think you were the type to talk like that,” he said.

She scowled at him. “Yeah, yeah, Kozy never swears so make fun of her when she does. Are you _trying_ to get on my nerves?”

His face dropped back to its usual serious look. “... Will it make you leave me alone if I do?”

“Absolutely not.” By asking that, he'd only ensured that she would now never leave him alone. Ever.

He sighed. “Of course you'd say that.”

She crossed her arms and refused to look at him. Maybe she was being a little bit petty but he was hard to deal with. All she wanted was to _help_. Why couldn't he just accept that?

* * *

 **November 11** **th** **, 1999 – Kuzunoha Detective Agency**

 

Kameya Alley had definitely seen better days. The shadow of the Aquarius Temple loomed over Hirasaka and only a few people walked the streets. They all avoided eye contact with each other. There was trash piling up in back alleys. Things were definitely worse than when he left.

“So, this is the place?” Miyabi asked, looking at the sign on the window.

Tatsuya looked over at his traveling companion, hands shoved in his pockets. “I thought you said you knew where the agency is.”

“I said that I knew where we were _going._ I knew... _roughly_ where it is. I knew it was in Kameya Alley and that I'd passed by the sign before. I just never paid that much attention to it because I didn't know it was important.”

He stared at her for a moment longer. She grinned nervously at him, probably made uncomfortable by his gaze. “... C'mon, let's go.”

The bell on the door rang as he stepped in and the giant cat statue meowed at him in greeting, then immediately asked him for cash. (Wait, wasn't that a front for the demon Tamaki was hiding in the other world? Was there a Nekomata hidden here somewhere?) Nobody was in the front but the unlocked door seemed to indicate that they were open. He took a deep breath. The version of Kuzunoha over in the other world, where they'd eventually moved to Aoba, hadn't ever quite felt the same as this one. It felt nice to be in the familiar office that he and the others had essentially used as their base.

“Anyone here?” he called out. Behind him, Miyabi seemed to be taking in the environment but mostly the cat statue. It had moved on to ask her for money since it clearly wasn't getting anything out of him.

“One moment!” a familiar woman's voice said from somewhere in the back.

“Is that you, Tamaki-san?” he asked. “It's, uh... It's me.”

There was a shuffling and Tamaki appeared in the doorway. “You...” She paused and stared at him. “Tatsuya-kun? Is that you?”

“Uh... yeah. Before you ask it's... just me. The others won't be coming back.”

“But...” She shook her head. “When you didn't come back from Xibalba after the Earth stopped, we all assumed-”

“That I was dead.” He gestured to Miyabi. “So I've been told. It's a long story which I... don't want to be telling more than necessary. Where's Todoroki-san?”

Tamaki walked up and put her hands on his shoulders, guiding him to the couch. “Why don't you sit down? Todoroki-san and Tadashi aren't here right now. They're out on a missing persons case. They found a potential lead for one of the ones in the backlog. They'll be back here soon enough.” As he sat down, she turned to Miyabi. “I don't believe we've been introduced.”

Miyabi bowed. “Hanakouji Miyabi. I was a second-year at Sevens. School newspaper. I'm a... friend? Friend of Suou-sempai.”

“She's the one who first pointed us to the rumor about Shiraishi selling weapons,” he added.

“Are you?” Tamaki asked. “Well, I'm Uchida Tamaki. I... well, I _originally_ worked here part-time while attending college but... plans have changed. Now I work full-time! For... essentially nothing because money is useless.” The statue meowed loudly as if it were disagreeing with her.

“She's also a devil summoner... Whatever that means.” He never had found out the exact nature of what that meant. Only that Tamaki and Todoroki both worked in the business. He didn't know about Tadashi but he doubted it.

“That too. For the record, Tatsuya-kun, a devil summoner is _exactly_ what it sounds like. I summon demons and bind them to my will. I don't have the same ability you do but devil summoning gives me an edge in supernatural battles. I've taken down some pretty powerful foes with my demons, especially back in high school when I was strongest.”

“How... how exactly does devil summoning work?” Miyabi asked as she sat down on the other end of the couch, a _very_ curious look in her eye.

“It's complicated and not the most important topic on the table. I'll tell you later.” She turned back to Tatsuya. “So when exactly _did_ you get back?”

“Last night.”

“Does anyone else know you're back?”

“Just you and Kozy-san.”

Tamaki nodded. “You should let Yukino-san know then. She was worried sick when you all never resurfaced from Xibalba.”

He stared at her blankly, then promptly buried his face in his hands. “Holy shit...”

“You forgot about Yukino-san, didn't you?”

“No... Just that she would still be alive. I had resigned myself to not seeing any of the others again but Yukino-san wasn't _there_ with us.” He looked back up. “I should talk to her but... I don't... know how to get in contact with her. I haven't seen her since she went off with Yoshizaka.”

Tamaki smiled. “Well, lucky for you, I maintain regular contact with her.”

* * *

 **November 11** **th** **, 1999 – Yukino's Apartment**

 

“Radio's making noise,” Anna grumbled, face buried in a pillow and arm thrown over her partner's stomach. They had stopped bothering with separate sleeping spaces a while ago and had taken to just sharing the bed. “Make it shut up.”

Yukino groaned as she reached over to the nightstand to pick up the emergency radio. “This better be important,” she said with a yawn. “We were up all night patrolling.”

“ _Alright, Yukino, you're probably not gonna believe this but I promise I'm telling the truth,”_ Tamaki said. _“It's... well... Oh, saying it out loud is more difficult than I thought.”_

“What? Spill it. Is there a demon rampage? Huge gang fight? Burning building? Where do we need to go?”

_“It's... It's not an emergency. It's not even anything bad, actually.”_

She blinked slowly, confused. “Then... why can't it wait until later? We're both exhausted over here.”

“ _Yukino, it's Tatsuya-kun. Suou Tatsuya. He's here. At the agency. Alive.”_

“What?” She sat up, suddenly wide awake, and ignored Anna's muffled complaint at having to move her arm. “Tatsuya as in... as in the Sevens student Tatsuya? The one who vanished into Xibalba? Katana and Persona and-”

“ _Yes, yes, and yes. It's him. He's sitting right here in the agency.”_

“But... how?”

“ _Come ask him yourself. He doesn't want to tell the story more than necessary.”_

“Right! I'll be right there!” She shut off the radio and turned to Anna. “C'mon, we gotta get to Kuzunoha.”

“Mmm... _sleep_ ,” Anna muttered, shoving her face further into the pillow.

“Sleep later! Tatsuya-kun's back! He's alive!”

She looked up at Yukino, eyes bleary. Was she registering the full conversation? “Go without me.”

“No.”

“Tired.”

“You're coming.”

Anna made an incoherent grumbling sound and rolled over to get out of the bed. She went a bit too far, however, and rolled right out onto the floor. “Fuck.”

Yukino walked over and slid her arms under Anna's, pulling her upright. “Probably a side effect of getting hit by so many sleep spells last night.”

“ _I'm_ the one with-” she broke off into a yawn. “The one with a Persona...”

“Yes, yes you are. Doesn't mean you have to take _every_ hit for me.” Once Anna was standing up straight and rubbing her eyes, Yukino turned back to the pile of clothes left on a chair. They rarely had time to focus on cleaning the apartment or even putting away laundry. “C'mon, we don't want to keep the others waiting.”

* * *

**November 11 th, 1999 – Kuzunoha Detective Agency**

 

Todoroki and Tadashi were back. Apparently, their lead on the case had led nowhere. Todoroki had been very pleased to see him alive and well. Tadashi... well, Tatsuya had never cared much about what Tadashi had thought. He'd honestly gotten used to not seeing the guy's face over in the other world, which had been kind of nice actually. (What had happened to him over there, again?)

While they waited for Yukino to arrive, Tamaki had been made to give an in-depth explanation of devil summoning to a very interested Miyabi. She was now deep in the story of her own start as a devil summoner, which apparently involved her high school getting randomly stuck in hell one day. That wasn't at all what Tatsuya had ever expected.

The bell on the door rang and he turned around to see Yukino walking in, pulling a very sleepy-looking Anna along by the arm. Yukino was dressed in her strange armor-like jacket but was now wearing what looked like cargo pants as well as a dull yellow sweater. Anna seemed to be wearing her Masked Circle uniform coat unbuttoned over her casual clothes.

“Tatsuya-kun?” Yukino asked, letting go of Anna. “It _is_ you!”

He stood up. “Hi, Yukino-san. It's me.”

She looked about ready to cry as she threw her arms around him. “I was so worried. About all of you.”

He awkwardly returned the hug as best as he could while she was pinning his arms to his sides. “I've heard the 'thought you were dead' bit by now.”

She stepped back to look him in the eye. “The others?”

“Gone. Not... not coming back.”

Her face softened. Ah, Yukino, always worried about others. “... You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.”

“No... you need to hear it.”

“Should we sit down...” she trailed off as she looked over at the couches. The one Miyabi wasn't sitting on had at some point been taken up entirely by Anna. “... Anna.”

“Fuck off,” she muttered. “Sit somewhere else.”

“Anna. Get up.”

Once she was sitting up, seeming rather cranky about it, and the others could sit down, Tatsuya took his spot on the couch back. “I've... already told the story to Kozy-san. It's...”

Yukino, who had opted to sit between him and Miyabi, put a hand on his shoulder. “It's okay... We've long since prepared ourselves for the worst kind of news.”

“It's... it's my fault.”

“So he says," Miyabi interrupted. "Look, who cares whether or not it was your fault? Trying to get everybody to blame and hate you doesn't help anything.”

He leaned past Yukino to look at her. “You-”

“Just tell them what happened. They need to hear it but spare them the self-hate.”

“... Alright.”

* * *

Everyone was quiet when he finished. That probably wasn't even the last time he'd have to tell the story and he doubted it'd get any easier. He wanted to say something to break the silence but wasn't sure what _to_ say.

Miyabi broke it for him. “So now we just need to fix things over here. Suou-sempai said you all would be able to say whether or not rumors still become reality.”

Todoroki and Tadashi both looked over at Tamaki, who avoided looking at either of them. “We can confirm as such,” Todoroki said. “Seeing as it was responsible for the Cathedral of Shadows that now exists further down the street.”

“We needed that Cathedral and you know it!” Tamaki protested.

“... That's the thing you said you use to fuse demons, right?” Miyabi asked. "To make stronger ones?"

“So the rumor curse is still in place,” Tatsuya said. He didn't care about this Cathedral of Shadows unless it could also fuse Personas like the Velvet Room. “Then... we have to be able to use that to fix things somehow.”

Anna looked at him tiredly. She seemed to have managed to pull herself into a marginally more awake state. “How are you gonna pull that off?”

“I'm still working on figuring it out. I just...” He pulled out the lighter and flicked the cap. “Okay, think from the top. The top three priorities would be...”

“Food, water, and power,” Miyabi said, standing up to pace. “We can't get anything else done until those three are out of the way since they're the most immediate threats to survival.”

“Food will be hardest,” Yukino stated. “But... it might be easier if we can get power and water handled first.”

“Water will be difficult, too,” Tamaki pointed out. “But we can do water filtration to reuse what's available _if_ we can get power.”

“So power first?” Tadashi asked. “But there's no power source...”

“Something has to fuel Xibalba,” Miyabi said. Everyone stared at her and Tadashi looked like he was about to say something, but she continued before he could. “ _We_ obviously all know why the city's flying. It's flying because people think it should be capable of flying. Most people don't know that, though, so they would naturally assume there's a power source somewhere.”

“Yeah but, if we leech off it, the city might crash,” Anna said, then yawned loudly. "We can't use up too much of the ship's power. We don't know how much it would have."

“Not exactly. This is a millennia-old spaceship supposedly left by _aliens_. Whose to say they didn't have access to an infinite power source?”

Tatsuya looked right at her. “So you want to spread a rumor that's there an infinite power source that we can hook up the power grid to...”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, it's just an idea... I know it sounds kinda silly when you say it out loud. I was just thinking...”

“It's an idea that just might work. We have no better plans and you're right that it's a rumor people might actually believe.”

“And you can work from there, too,” Tamaki added. “If we can make people believe that Xibalba has infinite power, then it can surely provide other resources.”

“Sounds like we have a plan," Yukino said. "So how do we start?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suou Tatsuya  
> Arcana: The Sun  
> Weapon: Two-handed swords  
> Persona: Apollo
> 
> Hanakouji Miyabi  
> Arcana: The Lovers  
> Weapon: Bats  
> Persona: None
> 
> Mayuzumi Yukino  
> Arcana: The Empress  
> Weapon: Razorblades, shotguns  
> Persona: None
> 
> Yoshizaka Anna  
> Arcana: The Tower  
> Weapon: Whips  
> Persona: Reverse Aeshma


	4. November 11th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introspection and people.

**November 11 th, 1999 – Kuzunoha Detective Agency**

 

“Alright... So, we want to try to open the pathway to the power source by some means other than going right into Xibalba,” Tatsuya said, leaning forward over the coffee table. “It's too dangerous to be going in there if we can avoid it.”

“Demons?” Miyabi asked. Part of her still didn't like the idea of going face-to-face with them but she had sworn that she was going to help. She was done with sitting on the sidelines and watching.

“Among... other things. I'll explain later. Anyway, where would be a good place to open it...?”

“It should be somewhere people try to avoid,” Yukino said. “So that they won't try to wander in.”

Everyone paused in thought.

“... What about the old factory?” Tatsuya suggested. “You know, the one in Kounan that's infested with demons? People sure as hell don't go there if they can avoid it.”

“Hm... that could work. We'll need to scout the place out and find somewhere to set up the entrance. Then spread the rumor.”

“We can get the demons to help, too.”

Miyabi frowned. “You get the demons to spread rumors?”

“Yeah, if we can get them to like us.”

“Talking to demons is quite the experience if you've never done it before,” Yukino said. “You've gotta do some really weird shit to get their attention. A demon once threatened to rip Tatsuya-kun's intestines out because it didn't like him trying to ask it nicely for help.”

“On the other hand, we've gotten them to help us after we just beat the shit out of them with our fists.”

“Yep.”

Miyabi furrowed her brow. “How do you know what will make the demon like you?”

“Well, it varies between species of demons. You learn via trial and error.”

“Great.”

“It's fun,” Yukino added. “... For a certain definition of fun.”

“Do we have to do it now?” Anna asked. “I'm still exhausted.”

“That's a fair point. Anna and I were up all night.”

Tatsuya opened his mouth to say something but Miyabi cut him off. “You should rest, too, sempai. I don't think you realize just how tired you look. You don't have to rush straight into doing things.”

He scowled at her.

“She's right,” Yukino said. “You haven't even been back a full twenty-four hours yet. Let's all rest up and prepare. Tomorrow we can meet at the factory and get to work but rushing things won't help anyone.”

He looked down at his feet. “Fine.” He stood up. “I think I want to be alone for a while. Nobody follow me.” The last part was said while looking directly at Miyabi.

“... You better show back up at the apartment when you're done.”

“That's not-”

“You gonna sleep on the street? Besides, you're still wearing borrowed clothing.”

“... Fine.” He turned around and walked out the door.

Yukino looked over at her. “We should get back to our apartment before Anna decides to just sleep on the couch here.”

A look at Anna's face confirmed that was a very real risk.

“Alright,” Miyabi said. “I'll find something to do. You go on.”

Yukino stood up, pulled Anna off the couch, and the two of them walked out the door.

Miyabi carded her fingers through her hair. Now, what was she supposed to do? She would have liked to keep accompanying Tatsuya but he probably did need time to himself. Of course, he may not show back up at her apartment but, at the very least, she knew where he'd be the next day.

“What do you plan to do?” Tamaki asked.

“I don't know. Wait for tomorrow? Try to figure out what I'm gonna do about the fact that I just signed on to fight demons despite barely knowing anything about combat?”

“I get that. Getting thrown into this all of a sudden isn't easy... though I had been in the fencing club so I at least had some idea of how to handle a weapon.”

“I'll figure it out. For now, I should stop bothering all of you.”

“Feel free to come back and talk to me if you need to... Or if you want to hear more about what happened in high school. I barely scratched the surface of that.”

Miyabi had to laugh a little at that. “I'll think about it. See ya later.”

* * *

**November 11 th, 1999 – Alaya Shrine**

 

He hadn't even meant to come here. Tatsuya's feet seemed to have taken a mind of their own and guided him here.

He took a deep breath and sat down on the grass with his back to a tree, sword resting across his lap. There was nobody else present. He doubted people thought to pray much when it seemed like any gods out there had abandoned them. (And they had, hadn't they? Philemon and Nyarlathotep had both left this timeline behind for the new one.) For the first time since he had run into Miyabi, he was alone with his thoughts. That was good and yet, at the same time, he hated being alone with his thoughts.

His eyes wandered over to his wrist. The mark hadn't carried over to this body. He desperately hoped that didn't mean it stuck around on the other Tatsuya's arm.

He closed his eyes and tried to sort out his thoughts. First things first, remember which small details were different on this side. His mind was a mess and he needed to sort things out.

Shiraishi, if it still existed, was a ramen shop and not an izakaya. Gatten Sushi would still be in Hirasaka. (Don't think about Eikichi's parents. _Don't._ ) The agency, of course, was in Hirasaka as well. Clair de Lune had always been in Aoba, rather than having been in Narumi.

He ran through as many of the little differences as he could. He was sure there were ones that he was missing but he couldn't recall them at the moment. They were probably important, too. That was how that shit tended to work.

He fiddled with his lighter, changing course on his train of thought.

They had the beginnings of a plan on how to save the planet. Would their plan work? Was it hopeless for him to think that they could save what was left of their species? Was he just going to starve to death with everyone else up here in the sky, clinging to false hope?

Could they return to Earth to rebuild, if they could land Xibalba? Somehow, he doubted it.

Dying of starvation would be a fitting death if nothing else. It was only right that he suffer whatever fate he had doomed everyone else to.

Hell, he had doomed his family to it and then disappeared on them for months. He knew he should go home and talk to them but... he _couldn't_. When he thought about trying to face them, something in him froze.

He was kind of a shitty son and brother, wasn't he? But, then, he was a shitty, selfish person in general.

Oh, hell, there he went again. That was exactly why he didn't like being alone with his thoughts. But the idea of being around people was also tiring. Anywhere he went was hell.

He thumped his head back against the tree and tried to focus on anything other than his own negative thoughts.

* * *

**November 11 th, 1999 – Kounan Temporary Police HQ**

 

“That's how many robberies in the past few days?”

“Too many. They're getting more frequent. The closer we get to running out of food, the more desperate people get.”

The female officer stared blankly at the wall. “Wonder how long we have.”

Katsuya drummed his fingers on the table, looking down at his cup of watery instant coffee. It wasn't very good but it did its job. Which was to say, it woke him up. “I prefer not to think about it.”

“... We can't keep this up.”

He wanted to chastise her for thinking that but it was true. They had no real resources, without even a proper station to set up in anymore, and not as many officers as they should have. It took a certain type of person to continue acting in this sort of capacity without any promise of recompense. Not everyone was willing to keep coming into the station every day.

“Suou-san?”

He gave her an apologetic smile. “Sorry. My mind drifted off there for a second.”

She rested her head on her hand as he took a long swig of his coffee and blanched at the taste.

“Part of me wonders why we're still bothering with all this,” she said.

“We have to keep the peace.”

“Why though? What's the point when we're probably all gonna end up dead anyway? We can't solve the supply shortage fast enough, even if we could find an answer immediately.”

He sighed. “I prefer not to think about that. Being here gives me something to do rather than sit around and wait for the end.”

He didn't mention how quiet and depressing things were back at home with his parents. Of course, he still went back to the house when he could but it was just... not the same. It hadn't been in months and they all knew _why_ it was like that. None of them liked to think about it, though.

And all his attempts at finding out what had happened led to the same place: Seven Sisters High School and then _nothing_.

He drained the last of his coffee and stood up. “We should get back to work.”

It was infinitely better than sitting there and dwelling on _that_.

* * *

**November 11 th, 1999 – Aoba**

 

Noriko kicked an empty stray can into the nearest alley and watched as it rolled. People really didn't care much about where their garbage went, though it wasn't as if was any place _for_ it to go. There was no proper disposal anymore but it wasn't like anyone would live long enough for it to become that major of a problem.

The street in this part of town was empty, buried in the shadow of the Leo Temple. All the high-end shops and other businesses around the area had shut down because there was nothing to gain from running them. It made it great for being alone if nothing else.

She pulled the jacket of her blue-and-pink tracksuit tighter to ward off the chill. Maybe she could take over one of the shops. Not as a business but as, like, her house. As long as it got her out of her damn parents' apartment and away from their constant arguments.

They'd be happier with her gone. Sanjuro had been the favorite, anyway. Her athletic skills were nothing to them in the face of his ridiculously high grades and getting into _fucking_ Tokyo University because of course, he was just that academically accomplished. So who cared if she could run really fast when _he_ was there for her parents to fawn on?

Oh, cool, she was being jealous of a dead guy. That was great. Time to stop thinking.

She broke into a run. How far down the street could she make it? The feeling of her feet beating against the ground was one of the best feelings in the world and the only real joy she felt anymore. Everything in the past several months had been beating her down until she almost stopped feeling but nothing could rob her of the joy running brought.

She made it halfway around the block when she stopped to breathe. That had helped to clear her head some. She straightened up and saw a head of faded blue hair further down the street.

“Chikarin?” she yelled. “Hey, is that you?”

Chika looked up in confusion, spotted her, then jogged over. She was dressed in a rainbow-striped sweater, overalls, and rainbow tie-dye sneakers. Apparently, her penchant for bright colors extended to more than just the feathers braided into her hair.

“Noriko-sempai!” she said. “Whatcha doin' here?”

“Taking a run. What about you?”

“Gathering rumors.”

Noriko looked around in confusion. “... This is one of the emptiest parts of the city.”

Chika shook her head. “Maybe but there _are_ people here. One person anyway.”

“And this one person is worth coming all the way out here to get info from?”

“Well, he is a rumormonger himself. Baofu. Ever heard of him? He used to operate via a website but he's had to switch it up now because... no Internet. Also, his actual base was apparently in Narumi so he's screwed there either way. Anyway, I don't come here to get info _from_ him. I get info _for_ him.”

“What?”

“I work for him! In that... I help him. He doesn't really... pay me. He's actually asked me multiple times why I do this.”

“And why do you?”

“Because the information network needs all the help it can get when all communications are down. It's a journalist's job to deliver reliable info to people all across her city.”

Noriko looked away at the empty street. “... You take that pretty seriously, huh?”

“Well, yeah! People need info!”

“But there is no info!” She turned her head back around. “Earth's still dead, we're still doomed, and there is _nothing_ that can be done!”

Chika narrowed her eyes. “I don't give up hope easily, Noriko-sempai. And I don't like when people try to make me give it up.”

“But what do you expect? That suddenly a solution is going to pop up where there wasn't one before? That some _miracle_ is going to happen?”

“... You've changed, Noriko-sempai.”

“So has everyone else.”

“Maybe but I refuse to let it knock me down. I'm gonna keep going forward. It's all I can do. Now, I need to get back to work.”

Chika turned around and left, leaving Noriko standing there alone on the street.

“... Refuse to let it knock you down, huh?” she muttered. “How can she be so positive...?”

* * *

**November 11 th, 1999 – Hanakouji Apartment**

 

“I'm home...” Miyabi muttered as she took her shoes off and looked around the messy apartment. She sighed. “Wonder if Mother will be home tonight...”

It wasn't likely. Her mother only came home once a week or so. Given that she had last visited the apartment about three days prior, that gave probably another four days. Well, it would give time for her to practice explaining Tatsuya's presence.

Assuming, of course, Tatsuya actually did come back.

Well, in the meantime, she could finally get around to cleaning the apartment. That way, if he did come back, it wouldn't be a disaster.

As she started cleaning up the various items scattered around the living area, her mind drifted.

She really had gone and signed up for something she was in no way qualified for, huh? Everyone else had Personas or demons or were just really good with weapons. Then there was her, Miyabi, who just swung a baseball bat around with no sense of what she was doing. She was just going to drag everyone else down, wasn't she?

There wasn't much she was good at. Her grades were fairly average, not bad but not necessarily great. She had no real talents. There wasn't anything she brought to the table. Well, maybe she had been good as a member of the newspaper club but that didn't mean anything. It's not like she had gone into it expecting to become a professional reporter the way Chika had.

No, she had just wanted a hobby because she still hadn't figured out what she wanted to do with her life. She had _ideas_ , before the Grand Cross, of what she could do with her life. She'd never settled on anything, though. Her best thought for what to do after high school had been to go to college just so she'd have more time to decide on a career.

She moved to the kitchen and set to work washing the stack of dishes.

Now there wasn't _anything_ for her to do with her life except just... exist. Of course, that was what most people did. Exist and wait to no longer exist. Unless they decided to kick others down in the hopes of existing for just a little bit longer.

And was she going to be one of those people? Waiting for the end or trampling on others? No, she wasn't that kind of person. What kind of person was she then?

She wasn't the type to volunteer for this kind of mission. Eikichi had been that kind of person, which was exactly why she joined on. If following what he would do was what she had to do to survive in this strange new world, then that was what she'd do.

Besides, maybe fighting alongside him would get Tatsuya to open up and accept her as a friend. She'd never cared much about him prior to that day at Sumaru Prison (it took more than rumors and a motorcycle to impress her) but he had certainly made his mark since. He needed people he could rely on and, with the ones he had been relying on gone, that had to be her. Who else would fight past his barrier to reach him?

Maybe that was her purpose. To be there for him and anyone else like him. She could live with that. Being a person who existed just to be there for others.

That didn't sound so bad, really.

* * *

**November 11 th, 1999 - Kounan**

 

Akari stood on an outlook, staring out over Ebisu Beach. It wasn't nearly as nice a sight as it'd once been, mostly due to the lack of an ocean. Oh sure, there _was_ essentially a huge lake of saltwater that had gotten picked up by Xibalba but that was hardly an ocean. It was also useless for anything.

Due to the chill, her usual cosplays had been switched out for jeans and a red sweater, though she kept the wig. It looked a good bit nicer on her than her natural dark brown hair. She also had her oversized sword, which was technically paper-mache and not real. (It seemed to still work as a weapon, though. She couldn't figure out why.)

Her Persona, Reverse Pairika, materialized beside her. A result of joining the Masked Circle and being granted their power. Getting a Persona had seemed pretty cool at the time. Now she could only lament how useless and weak it was.

She wished she could be like that lady from the Aerospace Museum. Fearless and strong. Ready to face anything. (And to think, she'd never even gotten her actual name.) Instead, Akari was stupid and useless and weak. Akari couldn't do anything right.

Akari liked to pretend she was a hero of justice and a true warrior but that's all it really was: pretend.

She sat down on the ground and pulled her legs up to her chest. Reverse Pairika vanished.

There was nothing for her in her future. Even her dreams were pointless now. ' _A manga artist.'_ Maybe in another world, where things were just a little bit better, she'd be working towards that. This wasn't that world, though.

Instead, she sat and stared at a dead lake full of saltwater. Was that symbolic of something? Nah, probably not. It was meaningless, like most things these days.

* * *

**November 11 th, 1999 – Alaya Shrine**

 

He'd been sitting there for long enough, hadn't he? The cold was starting to really get to him, even with Apollo's fire.

Tatsuya dragged himself to his feet, only then realizing how hungry he was. Where the hell was he supposed to find food? It occurred to him that he didn't know these things. Miyabi did, clearly, as she had food in her apartment.

Oh hell, he actually would have to go back to her apartment later, wouldn't he? She was right when she said there was no real alternative unless he wanted to either sleep in the streets (sounded like a good way to die) or go home. Neither of those were really good options.

He didn't know why Miyabi seemed so persistent on trying to help him. It wasn't like they were friends. Acquaintances through school, maybe, but that was it. She'd helped them against the Masked Circle (the corrupted facsimile of the real one, that was) because Eikichi was one of the targets too. At least, that was how he saw it. She would care about the ex-boyfriend she'd still had feelings for but some third-year who she'd never spoken to? Nah.

It was just... bizarre.

He strapped his sword on his back and picked up his bag. A glance at the sky confirmed it was already nearing evening. (The sun looked bigger than it should but he supposed that was simply because they were closer to it now.) That would at least partially explain why he was so hungry. It had been longer than he'd thought since he woke up that morning, which he supposed could be attributed in part to everyone having to walk everywhere.

He supposed he should go back to Miyabi's apartment before it got dark.

* * *

**November 11 th, 1999 – Formerly Kismet Publishing**

 

“So in conclusion-”

“In conclusion, there's nothing worth talking about.”

Chika glared at Baofu for interrupting her. “I mean, I guess but-”

He leaned back in his chair. “Kid, you're not gonna find anything. You're never gonna find anything. All the news is gonna be the same as the day before. Nothing's changed in months.”

She sighed and leaned back against the wall. “I know that, but... I can't just sit around.”

“I realize that. It's why I keep letting you come back here even though you never have any actual info on anything. If this keeps you happy, it's better than letting you wallow in despair like the rest of this city.”

“... Thanks, Baofu-san.”

“Now scram. Go home before it gets dark.”

“It's not _that_ late... I can stay out a little longer, can't I?”

“What am I, your father? Shoo.”

She turned to leave. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, you're gonna be back, aren't you?”

She skipped out the door. Baofu liked to be gruff but she knew he liked her deep down. ( _Very_ deep down.) He had taught how to use her knife effectively, after all. Both in melee _and_ as a ranged weapon!

She liked him.

* * *

**November 11 th, 1999 – Hanakouji Apartment**

 

The sun was down and the apartment was clean. Miyabi looked out the window, even though she would hardly be able to recognize Tatsuya on the street from her floor. Was he going to come back? Would she just have to hunt him down at the factory tomorrow?

She turned around and sat back on the couch, rubbing her temples. If he didn't return, where would he go? He had made it clear that he had no intention of returning to his own home. Would he seriously sleep on the streets? He'd freeze to death! Or get his throat slit in his sleep so someone could rob him!

There was a knock on the door. She stood up and walked over warily to glance through the peephole, then quickly unlocked the door and opened it.

“Where have you _been_?” she asked.

Tatsuya looked confused. “What? Was I supposed to get here at a certain time or...?”

“I thought you'd run off on me!”

“I was just...” He made a vague hand motion as if even he was unsure what he was trying to convey.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him into the apartment. “I was worried!”

He paused to take his shoes off. “Sorry. I just... really needed the time to clear my head.”

“Just... be careful.”

He looked at her, then turned away. “You don't have to concern yourself with me so much.”

“Yes, I do.”

“You really... don't.”

“And what kind of person am I if I turn my back on other people? You _need_ the help.”

“I don't-”

“Yeah, you do.” She crossed her arms. “ _You_ just don't like admitting it. Now, I have to go make dinner. We've got... _a day_ tomorrow.”

She turned around to the kitchen, leaving Tatsuya staring at her retreating back. Was he annoyed with her? Of course, he probably was. She couldn't let it get to her. She'd prove her worth _and_ prove that he needed her help. It would just take some time.

That was all.


End file.
